China's social affairs have fallen far behind its quick economic development, said an expert at the annual meeting of the China Private Economy Research Society held Sunday.

Lu Xueyi, president of the China Sociology Society, said that social problems in the country are increasing because of an imbalance in social and economic development.

Social structure has lagged behind economic structure and urbanization of the country is trailing industrialization, he said.

He said there are about 900 million farmers in China, despite the urbanization rate reaches 39.1 percent.

Meanwhile, Lu said, social services, especially education and sanitation, have not developed in line with economic growth.

About 85 percent of investment in sanitation flows into the urban area while only 15 percent is invested in the rural area where three quarters of the population live, he said.

Social administration in China remains at low level due to the legacy of planned economy. More than 200 billion yuan (US$24 billion) is spent annually on the construction of highways but little money is spent on highway administration. Each year, about 100,000 people die in traffic accidents.

Lu said the private economy needs to move into the social services, including hospitals, schools and scientific research institutions.

(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2003)